Museum of Jewish Heritage and Learning Experience Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

The concept behind achieving “a learning experience deemed religious” is by understanding that it is something that is not limited to a specific group of people that belong to that particular religion. Instead, it can be achieved by anyone through the internalization of the history of that religion and how it has impacted a particular culture and society. By knowing what the religion stands for, its tenets and principles and what the groups of people that belong to it have endured over the years, you are thus able to internalize it, appreciate it and achieve a learning experience that is deemed religious (Kashner 10).

One of the best examples of such a situation was the class trip to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York and its rather auspicious connection to the recently concluded Jewish holiday of Purim. Purim commemorates a dark period in history where the Jewish people were almost annihilated through the machinations of a biblical, historical figure by the name of Haman (Schellekens 120).

Fortunately, a series of events took place that helped to prevent this senseless slaughter which resulted in the holiday being created. The reason the visit can be considered as being auspicious concerning Purim is due to the Holocaust exhibit that is one of the more prominent displays in the museum. When looking at the sheer amount of suffering and death that occurred during the terror of the Nazi regime and realizing that this is not the first time that the Jewish people have come close to utter annihilation with thousands being killed, you cannot help but develop a deep and abiding respect for them (Nesfield 47).

Here are people that have died for their faith, they have endured innumerable hardships, gone through horrific tortures and yet they continue to stand proudly for their beliefs (Rowland 70). Looking at exhibits such as the Garden of Stones and the various chronological sections depicting the achievements of the Jewish people, the one aspect that can be taken from this is that the Jewish people have taken their suffering in stride. Despite all the horrors, tortures and deaths, the museum trip showed me that the Jewish people still hold strongly to the very beliefs and traditions that they have been murdered for (Seipp 725).

Some may consider this foolish, for me, this is a sign of strength since to hold onto your convictions and beliefs despite the tortures you have endured is a sign of amazing willpower and faith in the divine. What this learning experience deemed religious means to me are a sense of wonder and somber realization. It is a sense of wonder since the experience showed a proud and strong people that have endured much in the name of faith, something which I doubt I have the strength for. It is also a somber realization since the hate and bigotry that caused the suffering of the Jewish people continues to exist in the world today, albeit in a different form.

All in all, this was a valued learning experience since it has helped me to understand more about the traditions, history, and faith in the face of adversity that has come to define Jews around the world. The experience has taught me that we should heed the lessons that history has shown us and remember how it has a habit of repeating itself.

Works Cited

Kashner, Zoe. “Surviving THE Holocaust.” Junior Scholastic 117.5 (2014): 10. Print

Nesfield, Victoria. “Keeping Holocaust Education Relevant In A Changing Landscape: Seventy Years On.” Research In Education 94 (2015): 44-54. Print

Rowland, Antony. “Reading Holocaust Poetry: Singularity And Geoffrey Hill’s ‘September Song’.” Textual Practice 30.1 (2016): 69-88. Print

Schellekens, Jona. “Accession Days And Holidays: The Origins Of The Jewish Festival Of Purim.” Journal Of Biblical Literature 128.1 (2009): 115-134. Print

Seipp, Adam R. “Buchenwald Stories: Testimony, Military History, And The American Encounter With The Holocaust.” Journal Of Military History 79.3 (2015): 721-744. Print.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2020, July 18). Museum of Jewish Heritage and Learning Experience. https://ivypanda.com/essays/museum-of-jewish-heritage-and-learning-experience/

Work Cited

"Museum of Jewish Heritage and Learning Experience." IvyPanda, 18 July 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/museum-of-jewish-heritage-and-learning-experience/.

References

IvyPanda. (2020) 'Museum of Jewish Heritage and Learning Experience'. 18 July.

References

IvyPanda. 2020. "Museum of Jewish Heritage and Learning Experience." July 18, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/museum-of-jewish-heritage-and-learning-experience/.

1. IvyPanda. "Museum of Jewish Heritage and Learning Experience." July 18, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/museum-of-jewish-heritage-and-learning-experience/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Museum of Jewish Heritage and Learning Experience." July 18, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/museum-of-jewish-heritage-and-learning-experience/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1